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Health Net offers assistance for California fire victims and evacuees

Health Net, Inc. is helping ensure that members of its subsidiaries who have lost their homes or been evacuated due to current wildfires in Napa, Sonoma, Butte, Lake, Mendocino, Nevada, Orange, Solano and Yuba counties have access to essential prescription medications, critical Health Net information and other services to help them cope with grief, loss, stress or trauma.

On Oct. 9 and 10, 2017, California Gov. Jerry Brown declared states of emergency due to the effects of the Tubbs, Atlas Peak, Canyon and other wildfires, which have damaged critical infrastructure, threatened thousands of homes and caused the evacuations of residents.

“The loss of homes and evacuations have forced some Health Net members to be without their medications,” said Steve Sell, president of Health Net of California. “This is a source of stress that we hope to help alleviate. Affected Health Net members can count on uninterrupted access to the medical services and products they need to stay well.”

Prescription information

Health Net will approve payment for any essential prescription medications (with the usual copayments and deductibles) for any Health Net member in the eight counties where emergency declarations have been made and whose medicine was lost in a wildfire or remained behind during an evacuation.

To obtain an emergency supply, these members simply need to return to the pharmacy where the original prescription was filled. If the pharmacy is not open due to a state of emergency, or for questions or assistance, affected Health Net members may call 800-400-8987.

Coping assistance

Health Net members who lost their homes or have been evacuated due to the current wildfires may contact MHN, Health Net’s behavioral health subsidiary, for referrals to mental health counselors, local resources or telephonic consultations to help them cope with stress, grief, loss or other trauma resulting from the fires.

For the duration of the fires and their immediate aftermath, affected Health Net members may contact MHN 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 800-227-1060.

Information for health care providers

Health Net is taking steps to help ensure that health care providers in the areas of the wildfires are able to continue providing for Health Net members’ medical needs.

Health care providers who contract with Health Net may call 800-641-7761 for guidance on prescription refill guidelines, length of time to obtain authorizations for treatment, or approval for out-of-network services in the event a contracting provider or facility becomes unavailable.

Other important information

Depending on how the fire situations play out, Health Net may make additional changes to its policies as needed to help ensure members have access to necessary health care services.